Celebrated in the city of Munich, Germany, the Oktoberfest, as it is popularly called, is a 3-week festival that takes place in the months of September and October. Also called the largest beer festival in the world, the Oktoberfest gathers about 6 million visitors worldwide every year. Seeing the popularity of the festival, many countries around the world have adapted to what they call their own version of the Oktoberfest. So if you are not able to make it to Germany, you can always enjoy the festival in the areas mentioned below. Don't miss out on it! Brazil: welcome to the German town of Blumenau in Brazil. Well, we are not talking about Germans living in the town, but the place was originally founded by immigrants from Germany in the year 1850. The town is built in a traditional German style and there are a fair number of people who still live the way it used to be in good old days. The Oktoberfest is celebrated in a small village called Parque Vila Germanica between the dates of October 1stto October 18th. Guests can enjoy the festival in addition to exploring the town and its sites which include a beer museum. Vietnam: celebrated in Ho Chi Minh City since 1992, the Oktoberfest event over here is conducted between the 6thand the 11thof October and the decorations are like the original festival in Munich, with large wooden tables lined with beer. The Philippines: unlike the original Oktoberfest which is celebrated in a certain area, the Oktoberfest in the Philippines is a recent addition to the already existing festival which takes place between the 4thof September and the 9thof October. Now the event is set to be celebrated in a total of 30 parties in various cities around the country. Canada: over 700,000 guests (second highest after Munich) in and around Canada take part in the Oktoberfest celebrated in Ontario between the 9thand the 17thof October. In which place does the Oktoberfest take place from September to October? A) In Blumenau. B) In Ontario. C) In Ho Chi Minh City. D) In Munich.
D

The New York Times' Room for Debate blog has a panel   considering the pluses and minuses of summer homework. This has been the subject of debate in our house. Our 11th-grade daughter's summer assignments were very challenging, to the point where I sometimes wondered if more of her time would have been better spent just riding a bicycle or swimming around a pool. Here are some opinions from the panel: Harris Cooper, psychologist, Duke University: "The long summer vacation disrupts  the rhythm of instruction, leads to forgetting and requires time be spent reviewing old material when students return to school in the fall. My advice? Teachers, you need to be careful about what and how much summer homework you assign. Summer homework shouldn't be expected to overcome a student's learning deficits ; that's what summer school is for. Parents, if the assignments are clear and reasonable, support the teachers. " Nancy Kalish, co-author of the Case Against Homework: "Schools should rethink summer homework, and not just because it stresses out kids (and parents). The truth is, homework doesn't accomplish what we assume it does. According to a Duke University review of more than 175 studies, there is little or no connection between homework and standardized test score or long-term achievement in primary school." Mark Bauerlein, professor of English at Emory University: "To the general question of whether or not schools should assign summer homework, the answer is 'Yes.' The reason comes not only from the brain drain  of summer. It relates also to an attitude young people take toward education. They tie knowledge to the syllabus , not to themselves. They read and study to write the paper and score highly in the test, not to furnish their minds. In a word, they regard learning as a classroom thing. That's all." It seems to me that summer homework is a good idea to keep the brain cells moving, but like everything else it should be given in moderation. Mark Bauerlein might agree that summer homework  _  . A) should be based on the school's teaching program B) has no direct connection to students' higher grades C) brings more pressure to both students and their parents D) helps students develop the right attitude toward learning
D

When times get tough, we all look for ways to cut back. When we're hungry, we eat at home instead of going out. We take buses instead of taxis. And we wear our old designer jeans just a few months longer. With college expenses at all-time highs, high school students are eager to do anything to cut the cost of a university education. One cost-cutting proposal is to allow college students to get a bachelor's degree in three years instead of four. Educational institutions have been actively exploring ways to make the learning process more efficient. But there's a question: Would the quality of undergraduate education suffer? Few US universities have formally approved a "three-year degree" model. I doubt that mainstream North American colleges will carry out a three-year curriculum   any time soon. For one thing, most universities already allow highly qualified students to graduate early by testing out of certain classes and obtaining a number of college credits. In addition, at famous universities, the committee who determine which courses are required and which courses are electives are unlikely to suddenly "throw out" one quarter of the required credits. Professors will resist "diluting  " the quality of the education they offer. In my opinion, a quality four-year education is always superior to a quality three-year education. A college education requires sufficient time for a student to become skilled in their major and do coursework in fields outside their major. It is not a good idea to water down education, any more than it's not a good idea to water down medicine. If we want to help students find their way through university, we should help them understand early on what knowledge and skills they need to have upon graduation. We should allow students to test out of as many courses as possible. We should give them a chance to earn money as interns   in meaningful part-time jobs that relate to their university studies, such as the five-year co-op program at Northeastern University. ks5uks5u We can learn from the passage that   _  . A) most American universities are against the "three-year degree" model B) many famous US universities are considering adopting the "three-year degree" model C) professors are willing to accept the "three-year degree" model D) The "three-year degree" model can make college learning more efficient

A